Lakshmi Singh

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

The U.S.

may be on the verge of taking military action against Iran, but NPR's Frank Ordonez tells us President Trump did not make much of a case for why that may be necessary during his State of the Union address last night.

The president's nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Casey Means, is seeking Senate confirmation, and lawmakers drilled down today on her qualifications and record.

The wellness influencer and author was asked whether she would encourage people to vaccinate against measles and flu outbreaks.

She declined to make such a commitment.

In this exchange, Senate Democrat Tim Kaine of Virginia says there's a large amount of evidence that the flu vaccine can prevent someone from getting so sick that they end up in the hospital and possibly dying.

But he was unable to get a yes or no when he asked Dr. Means if she believes the evidence is there.

I support the CDC's guidance on the flu vaccine.

Former federal prosecutor Maureen Comey has landed a new job in the private sector.

NPR's Kerry Johnson reports Comey was let go from the Justice Department last year for reasons that were never specified.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers says he's resigning from his academic and faculty appointments at Harvard University at the end of the school year.

Summers has been on leave since November in light of his years-long relationship with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

U.S.

stocks are trading higher this hour with the Dow up 289 points.

It's NPR.

A Catholic bishop is criticizing the Trump administration's plans to spend billions on warehouses to detain unauthorized migrants, comparing them to the internment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II.

Aleja Hertzler-McCain of Religion News Service has more.

More snow is falling on parts of the Northeast, digging out from a bomb cyclone blizzard earlier this week.

The National Weather Service projected an additional one to three inches today.